


Between You and Me

by Silver_Hyacinth



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Awkward Romance, Challenges, Cute Ending, Eventual Fluff, Fate & Destiny, Flowers, Hinata Shouyou is a Dork, M/M, One Shot, Originally Posted on Tumblr, Soulmate-Identifying Marks, Tumblr Prompt
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-30
Updated: 2018-03-30
Packaged: 2019-04-14 19:38:42
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,096
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14143116
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Silver_Hyacinth/pseuds/Silver_Hyacinth
Summary: The first entry for a challenge I'm doing on tumblr! The prompt was: "There’s a black stain where you and your soulmate make first contact." You can find the challenge details on tumblr under kagehithere ^-^





	Between You and Me

**Author's Note:**

  * For [kagehinataboke](https://archiveofourown.org/users/kagehinataboke/gifts).



“Hey, Shō-chan, my family’s going to a park this weekend.” Hinata’s best friend, Izumi, turned around to lean his elbows against his desk. “You wanna go? Kōji is coming, too.”

“Oh, sure!” Hinata flashed him an appreciative smile. “Which one?”

“Tsutsujigaoka,” Izumi replied after a moment of recollection. “Ever been?”

“Only once.” Hinata faintly recalled going there when he was about 5, though he couldn’t really remember it all that well. The only details he could call to mind were the blobs of bright colors from the thousands of blooming azalea trees. Nevertheless, it would be fun to go see it again and bring home some pictures for Natsu.

“Great! I’ll pick you up on Saturday then.” Before the two of them could be scolded for talking, Izumi turned back around and resumed jotting down history notes.

Hinata tried to follow his example, but his mind kept wandering. It was raining outside; a deep, all-encompassing rain that turned the world into a blurry impressionist painting of blues and grays. He always found it hard to concentrate when it was storming, especially so when the wind was howling and the sky was rumbling like the stomach of a hungry god.

He stared out the window and watched an arc of blue lightning flash across the sky and strike a tree, lighting it ablaze for a millisecond before the torrential rain washed the sparks away. Hopefully, this weather wouldn’t last until the next day: Then they wouldn’t be able to go to Tsutsujigaoka.

Lately, the three of them hadn’t had enough time to hang out together, what with junior high graduation and final exams coming up. Since it was the beginning of May and nearing summer break, they only had a little time to relax before finals, and Tsutsujigaoka’s azaleas would be in perfect bloom this time of year.

Another crack of thunder resonated through the air and Hinata jumped, grimacing in annoyance. He wished the storm would let up soon…

*** * * ***

Miraculously, the rain stopped only a few hours before Izumi was supposed to come get Hinata. He was standing, halfway through putting on a shirt, when he realized that the thrum of the rain no longer filled the house, resulting in an almost eerie silence.

Hinata paused to look at himself in the mirror, angling his torso to see the handprint on the left side of his waist, then the right. He was usually too embarrassed to look at them, but sometimes he forgot what they looked like and was too anxious to refrain from peeking.

At least they were hideable. The only people who had ever seen them were his parents and Natsu, which was a relief. The prints showed where your soulmate would someday first touch you, and the waist was a mortifying location, at least in Hinata’s opinion. Natsu’s was on her shoulder, and Izumi’s on his wrist, though his had faded into a dull outline as he’d already encountered his soulmate—Kōji.

Hinata could remember when the three of them had first met in elementary school and those two had discovered their connection by accident when Izumi tripped over a pile of books and Kōji grabbed him by the wrist to catch him. It was still funny to remember, seeing how flustered the two of them became, and Hinata snorted thinking about it. Now, though, the two of them couldn’t be closer, and it was hard not to be a bit jealous of their good fortune.

“Nii-chan, Yuki and Kōji are here!” Natsu screeched loudly from down the hall. As Hinata finished pulling on his shirt, she barrelled into his room and attached herself to his leg, nearly taking him down. “Hurry hurry hurry hurry _hurrrryyyy_!” she insisted, tugging on his jeans to drag him haphazardly down the hallway.

“Stop pulling!” he whined, sliding dangerously on socked feet. “ _Natsuuuu_!”

He barely managed to save himself as she released him suddenly and sprinted towards the door to tackle Izumi and Kōji instead. “Yuki-niichan, Kōji-niichan!”

“Natsu, don’t attack them like that,” their mother scolded, dragging her back by the straps of her sunflower-patterned summer dress. She offered Izumi and Kōji a friendly smile as Hinata pulled on his sneakers. “Bye, boys! Take care of Shōyō, and have lots of fun!”

“Yes, Hinata-san.” Izumi bowed respectfully. “We’ll have him back before dinnertime!”

As the three of them retreated down the steps, Natsu shouting and waving goodbye, they piled into Izumi’s mother’s car and buckled up, chattering excitedly. As they pulled down the block, Hinata settled down a bit and stared out the window, watching the grey rain clouds recede into a clear, crystal blue void.

Izumi and Kōji held hands loosely and Hinata sighed, gazing out at the passing countryside. A strange feeling filled his chest, like cotton surrounding his organs. Even though the lightning had long since passed, a tingly feeling of anticipation lingered in the spring air.

*** * * ***

When they arrived at the park, Izumi’s mother left them to their own devices and departed to wander the park alone. After looking at a map, they headed off to the Four Seasons Garden. After taking a lap around to admire the trees, they splashed around a little in the fountain before heading off to the sailing pond.

They hit up every location from the Interaction Center to Large Grass Square and Shirouma’s boat tours. By the time they stopped for lunch, Hinata was exhausted already and his feet were killing him. While the azalea trees were beautiful, blooming in what seemed like a million different shades of pink and red, his shoes were new and hadn’t quite been broken in yet, and Hinata was sure his heels would be covered in blisters when he took them off.

“You okay, Shō-chan?” Izumi asked with concern. “You look pale.”

“I’m fine; these shoes are just killing me.” He gulped down some water and wiped the sweat from his brow with a tired sigh.

“Just take them off,” Kōji said around a mouthful of food. “I’ll put them in my bag for you. The concrete is mostly shaded, so you should be okay barefoot.”

“Good idea!” Hinata brightened up a little as he peeled off his shoes and socks, sighing in relief as the spring breeze tickled his feet. He handed his sneakers off to Kōji and he packed them in his backpack as he Hinata wiggled his toes mercifully. “Ah… much better.”

“Then let’s finish up here and go see the wisteria tunnel,” Izumi suggested, finishing off his takoyaki. “It’s supposed to be super amazing this time of year, plus I’ve heard if you make a wish there, it comes true!”

As Kōji finished his food and went to throw away their trash, Hinata looked at his bare feet under the table and frowned in thought. _A wish, huh? But… what would I even want to wish for?_

* * * *

Hinata had been expecting something grand, but the wisteria tunnel was utterly breathtaking. It spanned about 80 meters long, a trellised tunnel overhung with white and yellow wisteria that hung down and tickled their heads as they entered. It felt like entering a magic tunnel to another world, the outside completely blocked by the luscious flowers.

Hinata hung behind Izumi and Kōji, completely absorbed in the scenery as the smell of the wisterias filled his nose and the cool concrete cooled his sore feet. It was _beautiful_ ; definitely worth staying for. It was hard to believe that he was really still in Tsutsujigaoka and not in some magical fairy garden.

Even though there were other people on the path, Hinata felt like he was completely alone underneath the canopy of delicate, bell-shaped flowers. The smell was so intoxicating, he closed his eyes and tilted his head back to better absorb it. It was almost overpoweringly sweet, like honey.

_I wish for…_

He was so mystified, Hinata didn’t realize that walking with his eyes closed _probably_ wasn’t a great idea. It only took him a few seconds to realize this since his foot got caught up on a loose stone in the pathway and he tripped theatrically.

Well, he _would’ve_ tripped. Right as his traitorous momentum sent him careening towards a painful concrete hug, two hands steadied him from behind, literally _lifting him off his feet_ , saving him just in the nick of time.

Hinata, realizing he was quite literally hanging in midair, placed his feet back on the ground and straightened up with a shaky exhalation as the stabilizing grip evacuated from his waist. “Wh-whoa…! That was _too_ close…”

“You should be more careful,” a voice scolded roughly from behind him, reminding Hinata of his manners. He quickly turned around and bowed so fast and so low, he nearly smashed his face against his knees.

“I’m so sorry! I wasn’t watching where I was going!” He straightened and gripped the stranger’s hand, giving it a few rough shakes, still slightly shaken from his narrowly escaped face-plant. “Thank you very much for saving me!”

As he released him, the stranger stared down at his hand for a moment before looking up and into Hinata’s eyes—or, rather, _down_ , considering he was significantly taller. His eyes were about the bluest thing he had ever seen, like the ocean during a storm or a starless night sky. The ebony hair framing them made them stand out a thousand times more.

The spots where his hands had been still tingled, as if his touch had never left.

Hinata’s whole world stopped so suddenly and completely, he got whiplash, like someone had pressed pause on his surroundings. The river of thoughts in his head slowed to a thin trickle until a single one remained to slip through the cracks:

_He touched my waist._

“Excuse me for just one second.” Hinata turned his back on the blue-eyed stranger and raised his shirt, staring at the sides of his waist in disbelief and slight stupefaction as the black marks faded into a dull light gray on his skin, like the faint outline of handprints on foggy glass.

_This can’t be happening._

“This can’t be happening,” he echoed his thoughts aloud, pulling his shirt back down and clutching the sides of his head in an attempt to squeeze out the shock that had him rooted to the spot like a tree, legs shaking and heartbeat echoing erratically in his ears like the frantic drum of hummingbird wings. 

“Sorry to interrupt your panic attack, but I think we probably need to talk.”

“ _Ah_!” Hinata jumped, having forgotten about the stranger’s presence in his state of panic, and whipped around to face him. “Oh— oh my God!” He covered his face helplessly as his face heated up to an almost unbearable degree. He finally understood Izumi and Kōji’s reactions from elementary school…

“Hey, you don’t need to be so _embarrassed_ …” His words weren’t too convincing considering the red tint in his own cheeks. “Um, I guess I should probably… introduce myself. I’m Kageyama Tobio.”

Hinata parted his fingers half an inch to glance at him sidelong. “Hi-Hinata— Shōyō…” He covered his eyes again and whined into them, overwhelmed by his own anxiety. “I— I’m sorry, I just r-really wasn’t expecting this at all…” He lowered his hands and gripped his elbow diffidently, unsure how to continue.

“It’s, um— it’s nice to finally meet you…” he began lamely, wishing the hanging wisteria would just descend and bury him alive.

But Kageyama did something that surprised him: He let out a loud laugh, covering his mouth with one hand to conceal the bright sound that drew Hinata for an utter blank. “It’s nice to meet you, too.” His eyes sparkled and his smile left Hinata staring dumbfounded when he moved his hand away. “Sorry for laughing, but I’m just… really surprised.”

“Ah… i-it’s fine…” Hinata tried not to stare, averting his gaze with a nervous gulp. _Uwah, what is this? He’s way too handsome when he smiles…_ “U-um… should we maybe… go somewhere else?” He glanced around to emphasize the several people staring at them, shifting from foot to foot uncomfortably. The scene probably looked even stranger considering he was wearing no shoes…

Kageyama smiled again, nearly sending him into cardiac arrest, and nodded. “Sure… I’d like that.”

As they walked back towards the exit of the tunnel, where Hinata could see Izumi and Kōji waiting, he stared down at the tops of his bare feet and blushed, remembering his silent wish. It had been so stupid, he hadn’t even considered it would ever come true…

_I wish for… a fated encounter._


End file.
